


Road to Recovery

by KovuTheGirl



Category: Cars (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family, Psychological Trauma, Trauma, crash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-22 19:37:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11974272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KovuTheGirl/pseuds/KovuTheGirl
Summary: After a horrible wreck during his last race, Lightning McQueen may never race again. With the help of his friends and family in Radiator Springs, will the racing sensation make a comeback to the racing world or is his career officially over?





	Road to Recovery

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So, for my sake, this story takes place in a humanized alternate universe. This fic completely disregards Cars 2 and Cars 3, as if they never happened. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this story!

The speedway went completely silent as #95 spun out of control and flipped numerous times. The red race car continued to roll for a few moments. Once it was deemed safe to approach the wreckage, paramedics went to the scene to help the driver. The driver was none other than Lightning McQueen. The young 25-year-old racer had quite a reputation within the racing community. Despite his young age, he already won five piston cup championships so far in his career.

Nobody was certain what had happened. Lightning was in second place, catching up to #86, his rival since his rookie year; Chick Hicks. It was hard to tell what had caused the crash, but a few spectators noticed him ram into McQueen as he was about to pass him. It was common knowledge that Chick always raced dirty, and would constantly search for ways to sabotage his fellow racers; especially McQueen.

A crowd began to form around the wreck, but were barricaded by security. A petite pale woman with light blue hair came forward, begging to be let through.

“I'm sorry, ma’am, no one is allowed beyond this point.” One of the security guards exclaimed.  
“I'm his wife. Please let me through!” The woman explained.

By the time she could get through they were loading Lightning into an ambulance.

“Right this way, Mrs. McQueen.” one of the paramedics said as they helped her embark the ambulance with her husband.

Sally was heartbroken at the sight of her husband; shards of glass and metal were lodged into his chest and abdomen. He had lost a lot of blood in the crash, paramedics were still attempting to stop the bleeding.

“He’s struggling to breathe!” one of the paramedics exclaimed as the other prepared a respirator.  
“You're going to be okay, Stickers.” Sally reassured herself in a whisper, holding his left hand in hers.

The ride to the hospital was quick, but felt like an eternity for Sally. It killed her to see the love of her life in such pain. Lightning was stabilized and rushed into surgery. The rest of the Radiator Springs crew arrived at the hospital a short while later. Flo instantly noticed Sally’s distress, and pulled her into a hug.

“How is he, sugar?” She asked.  
“He's in surgery right now, and I have no idea if he's going to pull through, Flo…” the young woman replied with tears in her eyes.  
“Sally, you need to calm down, sugar. All this stress can't be good for you or the baby,” Flo attempted to calm her.

Sally instinctively put a hand over her belly. She was about three months pregnant, and was just starting to show signs of a baby bump. The couple decided it would be best to not mention the pregnancy to anyone outside of their little Radiator Springs family, the press would never leave them alone otherwise.

“Does Sky know about this yet?” Flo asked, bringing Sally back to reality.  
“I spoke to Sarah on the way here. I asked her if she could watch her for the time being until we get back. Sky saw the wreck on TV, she’s worried about her father right now; I tried to reassure her that he’s going to be fine, but…” Sally chocked on her words.  
“It’s okay, sugar. Lightning’s going to be fine; he’s though, and you know that. He’ll pull through; you’ll see.” Flo reassured, holding Sally close as she sobbed.

Ramone, Fillmore and Sarge sat a couple chairs away from Sally and Flo; Mater paced around the waiting room, hoping his best friend would be okay.  
Sally had been answering countless phone calls and text messages from Lightning’s friends from the track hoping to get an update on his condition. Her parents had called her once they heard the news; they promised they would come down to see them as soon as possible and asked for their daughter to keep them updated.

Hours passed before they received any news on Lightning’s condition. He was stabilized for now, but they had him scheduled for more surgeries in the coming days. They had already surgically removed most of the metal and glass shards, and he had Corneal Lacerations in both eyes that they performed surgery on as well. He was currently in a coma, and they had no idea when he would wake up.

“Can I see him?” Sally asked pleadingly.  
“Of course, follow me, Mrs. McQueen.” the nurse instructed as she led Sally to Lightning’s room.

The sight of her husband broke Sally’s heart. He had tubes entering and exiting his body all over, and was heavily bandaged. Most of his chest and abdomen was bandaged following the removal of several shards of metal and glass. His right arm was broken and in a cast, while his left arm connected him to an IV drip of pain medications. His left leg was slightly elevated and in a cast. His eyes were also bandaged shut. The constant beeping of the various machines were the only sounds in the room.  
She sat in the chair on the left side of the bed, grabbing his hand into hers.

“you’re going to be okay, Stickers; you’re going to be fine…” she mumbled, reassuring herself while she fought away her tears.

The young woman was somewhat relieved that he was unconscious; she could only imagine how much pain he was in right now. It was better if he couldn’t feel any of it for the time being. Sally looked to her phone; she contemplated calling home, Sky would want to know how her father is doing. The phone’s clock read ‘3:48 am’; their daughter should be asleep by now. She could always call in the morning.

Suddenly, Lightning’s cell phone rang. Sally didn’t recognize the number, but decided to answer it anyway.

“hello?” She answered.  
“I’m looking for Lightning McQueen, this is his cell number, right?” A woman on the other end of the call asked.  
“yes, this is his cell, but I’m afraid he can’t come to the phone at the moment.” Sally replied, keeping her answers as vague as possible.  
“who are you, and why do you have his phone?” The woman asked.  
“I’m his wife, and who am I speaking to?” She replied.  
“wife? That's not possible, Lightning isn’t married.” The woman on the phone exclaimed.  
“yes he is; we’ve been married for four and half years now, and who am I speaking to?” Sally asked again.  
“I’m his mother.” She stated blankly.  
“oh, well I can tell you that Lightning is fine. He’s unconscious right now, but the doctor’s have him stabilized.” She informed.  
“how do you even have access to any of this information?” Lightning’s mother questioned.  
“I’m his wife,” Sally repeated.  
“that’s impossible; my son is not married,” she argued.  
“I’ve already told you, we’ve been married for almost five years.” The young pregnant lady replied, annoyed.  
“he can’t be married to you; it just doesn't make any sense.” She mumbled into the phone.

Losing her patience, Sally hung up the phone. Sighing heavily, she allowed herself to cry. It was unclear to her if she was crying because of Lightning’s condition, or if it was because of her phone conversation with the mother-in-law she’s never met, or a bizarre mix of both those things and her uncontrollable hormones.  
The doctor made sure there was an extra bed in the room for Sally, assuming she wouldn’t want to leave her husband’s side. Stifling a yawn, she rose from her seat and leaned down to plant a delicate kiss on Lightning’s cheek.

“Everything’s going to be fine; I love you, Lightning.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not a bad start if you ask me... as with most of my works, I'm not sure as to when I'll get around to updating (School starts in a couple weeks for me so that'll limit my fanfic writing time even more so it's hard to say exactly how much time I'll have to do this) Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you next time!


End file.
